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MUS 110 Music Appreciation > Chapter 10: Western Musical Instruments > Flashcards

Chapter 10: Western Musical Instruments Flashcards

1
Q

Bow

A

A slightly curved stick with hair or fibers attached at both ends, drawn over the strings of an instrument to set them in motion. (page 38)

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2
Q

Pluck

A

To sound the strings of an instrument using fingers or a plectrum or pick. (page 38)

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3
Q

Violin

A

Soprano, or highest-ranged, member of the bowed-string instrument family. (page 38)

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4
Q

Viola

A

Bowed-string instrument of middle range; the second-highest member of the violin family. (page 39)

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5
Q

Double

A

To perform the same notes with more than one voice or instrument, either at the same pitch level or an octave higher or lower. (page 39)

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6
Q

Cello

A

Bowed-string instrument with a middle-to-low range and dark, rich sonority; lower than a viola. Also violoncello. (page 39)

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7
Q

Violoncello

A

See cello. (page 39)

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8
Q

Double Bass

A

Largest and lowest-pitched member of the bowed string family. Also contrabass or bass viol. (page 39)

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9
Q

Contrabass

A

See double bass. (page 39)

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10
Q

Legato

A

Smooth and connected; opposite of staccato. (page 39)

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11
Q

Staccato

A

Short, detached notes, marked with a dot above them. (page 39)

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12
Q

Pizzicato

A

Performance direction to pluck a string of a bowed instrument with the finger. (page 39)

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13
Q

Glissando

A

A rapid slide through pitches of a scale. (page 39)

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14
Q

Tremolo

A

Rapid repetition of a note; can be achieved instrumentally or vocally. (page 39)

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15
Q

Trill

A

Ornament consisting of the rapid alternation between one note and the next. (page 39)

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16
Q

Double-stop

A

Playing two notes simultaneously on a string instrument. (page 39)

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17
Q

Mute

A

Mechanical device used to muffle the sound of an instrument. (page 40)

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18
Q

Harmonics

A

Individual, pure sounds that are part of any musical tone; in string instruments, crystalline pitches in the very high register, produced by lightly touching a vibrating string at a certain point. (page 40)

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19
Q

Harp

A

Plucked-string instrument, triangular in shape with strings perpendicular to the soundboard. (page 40)

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20
Q

Arpeggio

A

Broken chord in which the individual pitches are sounded one after another instead of simultaneously. (page 40)

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21
Q

Guitar

A

Plucked-string instrument originally made of wood with a hollow, resonating body and a fretted fingerboard; types include acoustic and electric. (page 40)

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22
Q

Acoustic Guitar

A

A guitar designed for performance without electronic amplification. (page 40)

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23
Q

Electric Guitar

A

A guitar designed for electronic amplification. (page 40)

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24
Q

Banjo

A

Plucked-string instrument with round body in the form of a single-headed drum and a long, fretted neck; brought to the Americas by African slaves. (page 40)

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25
Mandolin
Plucked-string instrument with a rounded body and fingerboard; used in some traditional musics and in country-western music. (page 40)
26
Flute
Soprano-range woodwind instrument, usually made of metal and held horizontally. (page 41)
27
Piccolo
Smallest woodwind instrument, similar to the flute but sounding an octave higher. (page 41)
28
Oboe
Soprano-range, double-reed woodwind instrument. (page 41)
29
English Horn
Double-reed woodwind instrument, larger and lower in range than the oboe. (page 41)
30
Bell
The wide or bulbed opening at the end of a wind instrument. (page 41)
31
Clarinet
Single-reed woodwind instrument with a wide range of sizes. (page 41)
32
Bass clarinet
Woodwind instrument, with the lowest range, of the clarinet family. (page 41)
33
Bassoon
Double-reed woodwind instrument with a low range. (page 42)
34
Contrabassoon
Double-reed woodwind instrument with the lowest range in the woodwind family. Also double bassoon. (page 42)
35
Saxophone
Family of single-reed woodwind instruments commonly used in wind and jazz bands. (page 42)
36
Embouchure
The placement of the lips, lower facial muscles, and jaws in playing a wind instrument. (page 42)
37
Trumpet
Highest-pitched brass instrument that changes pitch by means of valves. (page 42)
38
French Horn
See horn. (page 43)
39
Trombone
Tenor-range brass instrument that changes pitch by means of valves. (page 43)
40
Tuba
Bass-range brass instrument that changes pitch by means of valves. (page 43)
41
Cornet
Valved brass instrument similar to the trumpet but more mellow in sound. (page 44)
42
Bugle
Brass instrument that evolved from the earlier military, or field, trumpet. (page 44)
43
Fluegelhorn
Valved brass instrument resembling a bugle with a wide bell, used in jazz and commercial music. (page 44)
44
Euphonium
Tenor-range brass instrument resembling the tuba. (page 44)
45
Sousaphone
Brass instrument adapted from the tuba with a forward bell that is coiled to rest over the player's shoulder for ease of carrying while marching. (page 44)
46
Timpani
Percussion instrument consisting of a hemispheric copper shell with a head of plastic or calfskin, held in place by a metal ring and played with soft or hard padded sticks. A pedal mechanism changes the tension of the head, and with it the pitch. Also kettledrums. (page 44)
47
Kettledrums
See timpani. (page 44)
48
Xylophone
percussion instrument with tuned blocks of wood suspended on a frame, laid out in the shape of a keyboard and struck with hard mallets. (page 44)
49
Marimba
Percussion instrument, a mellower version of the xylophone; of African origin. (page 44)
50
Vibraphone
A percussion instrument with metal bars and electrically driven rotating propellers under each bar that produces a vibrato sound, much used in jazz. (page 44)
51
Glockenspiel
Percussion instrument with horizontal, tuned steel bars of various sizes that are struck with mallets and produce a bright metallic sound. (page 44)
52
Celesta
Percussion instrument resembling a miniature upright piano, with tuned metal plates struck by hammers that are operated by a keyboard. (page 44)
53
Chimes
Percussion instrument of definite pitch consisting of a set of tuned metal tubes of various lengths suspended from a frame and struck with a hammer. (page 44)
54
Snare Drum
Small cylindrical drum with two heads. (page 44)
55
Bass Drum
Percussion instrument played with a large, soft-headed stick; the largest orchestral drum. (page 45)
56
Tom-Tom
Cylindrical drum without snares. (page 45)
57
Tambourine
Percussion instrument consisting of a small round drum with metal plates inserted in its rim; played by striking or shaking. (page 45)
58
Castanets
Percussion instruments consisting of small wooden clappers that are struck together; widely used to accompany Spanish dancing. (page 45)
59
Triangle
Percussion instrument consisting of a slender rod of steel bent in the shape of a triangle, struck with a steel beater. (page 45)
60
Cymbals
Percussion instruments consisting of two large circular brass plates of equal size that are struck sideways against each other. (page 45)
61
Gong
Percussion instrument consisting of a broad, circular metal disk suspended on a frame and struck with a heavy mallet; produces a definite pitch. See also tam-tam. (page 45)
62
Tam-Tam
A flat gong of indefinite pitch. See also gong. (page 45)
63
Gamelan
Musical ensemble of Java or Bali, made up of gongs, chimes, metallophones, and drums, among other instruments. (page 45)
64
Piano
Keyboard instrument whose strings are struck with hammers controlled by a keyboard mechanism; pedals control dampers in the strings that stop the sound when the finger releases the key. (page 45)
65
Organ
Wind instrument in which air is fed to the pipes by mechanical means; the pipes are controlled by two or more keyboards and a set of pedals. (page 45)
66
Harpsichord
Early Baroque keyboard instrument in which the strings are plucked by quills instead of being struck with hammers like the piano. (page 45)

MUS 110 Music Appreciation (50 decks)

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